AP Bio - Chapter 16

DNA Ligase

Acts like glue to join parts of DNA (such as nucleotides to replace RNA primers) to form a continuous strand of DNA. They link 3’ to 5’ ends in fragments.

Nucleosome

Basically the units of DNA in chromosomal form. Think DNA wrapped like string around histones and this being that sort of unit.

Helicase

An enzyme that untwists through DNA, seperating the strands at the replication fork to make sure they are readable as templates.

Okazaki Fragment

In the lagging strand (when 3’ to 5’ of replication), DNA Pol III cannot continuously synthesize nucleotides, so it has to go on a run of nucleotides, then another, and another to keep up with the replication fork and DNA seperation.

Histone

The protein DNA is wrapped around, positively charged

Bacteriophage

a virus that infects bacteria

Chromatin

the complex of chromosomes in a cell.